By PAUL GOTHAM
WARWICK, R.I. — More than nine hours of roads separate Rochester, New York and Danville, Illinois. For the No. 11 Monroe Community College men’s basketball team, that trip starts with 40 minutes of basketball on Saturday afternoon.
MCC’s Tribunes (23-4/11-1) will go for their fifth District 2 Division II title at 1 p.m. when they take on the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) Knights (16-12/11-4) at the Vincent A. Cullen Field House.
Monroe, winners of six of their last seven, will look to return to the NJCAA National Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Darwin Trotman (12 ppg) leads five Tribs in double figures for a team scoring more than 83 a game while holding opponents to 71.1.
Region 3 Tournament MVP Izaha Jackson adds 11.9 followed by Romaine Thomas (10.7 ppg), Isaiah Davis (10.5) and Damon Miraud (10.3).
Miraud grabs eight rebounds a game while Thomas corrals 6.9. The Tribs have a rebound margin of 6.4.
Led by Edvaldo Ferreira (17 ppg), CCRI scores 84.4 a game and allows 71.4. Adrian Lafleur chips in 13.7 points with Elijah Vazquez (12.8) and Joshua Mann (11.3) rounding out the Knights in double figures.
Ferreira also pulls down 14.3 caroms for a team with a rebound margin of plus-8.
The Knights defeated No. 10 Dean College, 94-87 to advance to the District Championship.
CCRI fell to Monroe’s Region 3 rivals Niagara County Community College and Genesee CC earlier this season.
“That was back in November,” Monroe head coach Jerry Burns said. “They have turned it around. At their place is going to be difficult task. It’s something that needs to get done.”
Monroe fell to Dean in the 2014 title game.
The black and gold also won titles 2005, ’09, and ’10 to go with 2013 championship. The Tribs also earned a bid to the national tournament in 2007. Burns led MCC to the national tournament in 1993 and ’94.
CCRI advanced to the national tournament in 2001, ’05, ’07 and 2012. The Knights advanced to the national finals in 2012.
The NJCAA Division II tournament will take place at the Mary Miller Center in Danville, Illinois from March 15-19.
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